Gospel of the Day

From the Gospel according to Luke 17:1-6

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.
Be on your guard!
If your brother sins, rebuke him;
and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he wrongs you seven times in one day
and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’
you should forgive him.”

And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Gospel of the Day

From the Gospel according to John 2:13-22

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his Body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead,
his disciples remembered that he had said this,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.

From the Gospel according to Luke

16:9-15

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them,
“You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts;
for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Training in Faithfulness

In this Gospel, Jesus warns us that if you are not faithful in small things, you will not be faithful in great ones either. And faithfulness is absolutely essential in marriage.

When we marry, the most familiar words we hear are perhaps these:

“I take you as my husband/wife, and I give myself to you, and I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love and honour you all the days of my life.”

We promise each other faithfulness in both joy and hardship. This fidelity is a sign of our love and respect — a reflection of God’s covenant with us. God is faithful; He keeps His promises and has bound Himself to our marriage in a covenant of love to make it possible.

How important it is that we live out that faithfulness we promised each other — beginning with the small, everyday details! Fidelity is not only about physical loyalty, but also about the little things: coming home promptly after work to help with the children or the house instead of staying for a drink; keeping our daily prayer time together, persevering in that moment we set aside for one another and for our marriage.

These are chances to train ourselves in small acts of fidelity, so that when real temptations or trials arise, we will be strong enough to remain faithful. If we grow careless in the small things, we will not withstand the great ones when they come.

Brought into Married Life

Vincent: Claire, I don’t quite understand what Jesus means about “making friends with dishonest wealth.”

Claire: I think it means we shouldn’t cling to material goods but rather use them to store up treasure in heaven.

Vincent: But He mentions “dishonesty” — doing wrong knowingly. That would mean earning money through deceit, and I earn our living honestly.

Claire: Yes, but we earn more than we truly need, don’t we?

Vincent: That’s true, but it’s the result of many years of hard work.

Claire: Are you sure it’s only that, Vincent? Don’t you think God has given you certain gifts and opportunities that others haven’t received?

Vincent: Hmm… I’m not sure I follow you.

Claire: I mean that everything we have — absolutely everything — comes from God. We are very blessed with the material goods the Lord has allowed us to enjoy, far more than we actually need, while others lack even the essentials. What do you think God expects from us?

Vincent: You’re right. God has given us more than we truly need. I suppose He expects us to use it to help those who have less.

Claire: Exactly. If we cling to worldly goods, we end up serving money instead of God. But if we use those goods generously for the benefit of others, and do so out of love, then we are serving God — and storing up treasure in heaven.

Vincent: Thank you, Claire, for enlightening me. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I love you.

Mother,

teach us always to be faithful —

to our spouse, to our sacrament, and to God —

and to do His will, just as you did.

Blessed and glorious are you, Mother!

Praise be to the Lord forever!a

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”

Are We Shrewd?

Through this parable, the Lord teaches us that we must use all our gifts and talents wisely and shrewdly, collaborating with Him in building His Kingdom.

Does this mean we should act wrongly or deceive others? Of course not. It means that we should bear witness to the beauty and goodness of our sacrament by making the best use of every “weapon” available to us.

If I am kind, then I will use my kindness shrewdly for good.

If I am intelligent and hardworking, I will place that intelligence at the service of the Lord.

If I am a good organiser, I will offer my skills wherever they are needed, for the greater glory of God.

Brought into Married Life

Peter: Good morning, Mary. How did you sleep? I noticed you’ve been awake for quite a while.

Mary: Good morning. I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I woke up very early and couldn’t stop thinking about what we heard at yesterday’s Opening Day for the new term. I think we’ve been nourished and formed by the wonderful catecheses of Saint John Paul II in our Marital Love Project group, and we do help with the retreats — but perhaps it’s time we took another step forward.

Peter: I thought the same. It really was a beautiful start-of-year gathering, but it gave us plenty to reflect on.

Mary: Peter, do you think we’re being a bit selfish by not offering ourselves in service to Our Lady’s Project?

Peter: Well… I wouldn’t go as far as calling us selfish, but yes — we do need to use all the gifts the Lord has given us, so that this treasure can reach many more couples.

Mary: Then, if you agree, we could call our coordinators and ask them to tell us more about the different areas we could help with — and see where our skills might be useful.

Peter: That sounds wonderful. And you, my love, seem more beautiful to me every day. Come on — give me a kiss and let’s offer the day to the Lord!

 

Mother,

You placed all your gifts at the service of your Son.

Help us not to fall into the temptation of laziness;

teach us to discern our talents

and to put them at the service of God’s Kingdom.

Amen. Blessed and praised be You forever!

Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to Luke
15:1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

The Joy of Conversion

It fills us with joy to know with certainty how deeply God loves us. We may fall and lose our way countless times, yet He will always be there waiting for us with open arms, desiring only what is best for us.

We must always remain open to conversion. The Lord gives us the means through the sacraments. What a wonder — the celebration in heaven every time someone embraces the faith and is converted! And the same rejoicing happens every time we come out of the confession, our souls cleansed, grace restored — having recognised our sin, repented, and received forgiveness, renewing the friendship with God that sin had broken.

Through our own sacrament, as married couples, we too are given the grace to be converted again and again — every time we welcome our spouse as they are, ask forgiveness and forgive, accept them fully as the gift they are to us, and make small sacrifices of love and self-denial. In doing so, we prepare our souls for the ultimate encounter with God.

 

Brought into Married Life

Leo: Mary, have you realised the power of our sacrament? Through our mutual self-giving, we can see how we grow — and how those around us are transformed too.

Mary: Yes, it’s amazing. I love imagining the celebration in heaven every time the Lord, through the grace we receive, changes the world even just a little through us.

Leo: And imagine the joy each time a couple discovers the greatness of their vocation and their whole life is transformed.

Mary: Thanks be to God, there are more and more marriages like that — couples who, trusting in the grace they’ve received and aware of what they’ve been given, are unknowingly sharing in a little bit of heaven here on earth.

 

Mother,

We are weak and fall so easily.

Show us the grace of never tiring of conversion,

and let us share together the joy of heaven here on earth.

Blessed be the Lord for His infinite love that always rescues us.